McCarthy: Optimistic Jermichael Finley will Play, Wants Him Back

We figured it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley would be playing elsewhere in 2014, if he was playing at all.

Well, we may have jumped the gun.

Although Finley had spinal fusion surgery — the exact same surgery that ended safety Nick Collins’ career — he’s vowed to play this year. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he’s optimistic Finley will play in 2014 as well.

“I’m very optimistic Jermichael will be back (playing football), based on my understanding of his situation,” McCarthy said. “I haven’t been involved in a conversation where he’s been compared to Nick Collins. Trust me, Jermichael’s doing everything he can every single day, he loves to train. From my understanding he’s doing very well. I’m hoping to get it worked out and get him back here.”

Ultimately, Finley will have to be cleared by the Packers’ medical staff and then by GM Ted Thompson. Finley’s doctor has already given him the green light.

So then the question is, can the Packers afford to bring Finley back? He’s scheduled to be a free agent and early indicators seemed to suggest Finley is seeking a contract commensurate with the top tight ends in the game.

When he’s healthy he can be one of the top tight ends in the game, but will the Packers be willing to pay him as such when he’s coming off a serious injury? We have our doubts.

In our estimation, the Packers will let the market dictate Finley’s value. If someone wants to throw a bunch of money at him, that likely takes the Packers right out of the picture.

It should be, problem is, will he be the same player he was becoming before the injury, or will the dropsies return? My guess is that he won’t catch a pass over the middle ever again because that might mean getting tatooed.

Now that’s some good reading between the lines. If that does end up being the case (assuming he can indeed play again of course) then it’s “Bon voyage”, “Do svidanya”, and “So long, and thanks for all the fish” indeed.

I’ve had it with Finley. He has never played like a football player…more like a basketball player. Everything he does on the field looks awkward, aka NOT like everyone else. He’s not built for the NFL. He does not play like other big tight ends in the NFL. He will continue to get hurt in the NFL.

Finley has done good things. I love it when he runs over safeties and corners after the catch. Finley is a beast after he catches the ball. The problem is it sure appeared down the stretch that Quarless is a much better receiver. Quarless made several catches down the stretch that most wide receivers cannot bring in and that Finley seams to struggle with.

So the question is do you spend huge dollars on a very good tight end coming back from a couple of concussions and fused vertebrae in the neck or do you spend decent dollars on an up and coming tight end that is two years removed from a major knee surgery.

It appears that the best position is try to keep Quarless at a reasonable cost and use Bostick as the speed tight end. If there is a need for a tight end you would not need to draft until the third round at the earliest.

One other possibility is we keep Quarless and Finley cannot sign with another team for the amount he wants due to the concern over the injuries. Finley may come back on a one year reduced value contract with incentives so he can shop around after proving his durability for a year.